


After Penance, Peace

by meridian_rose (meridianrose)



Category: Da Vinci's Demons
Genre: Angst, Character of Faith, Community: smallfandomkinkmeme, Flogging, Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, Kink Meme, Leo taking the blame for things, M/M, Masturbation, Originally Posted on Dreamwidth, Originally Posted on LiveJournal, Past Relationship(s), Penance - Freeform, People shouldn't let Riario out of their sight, Religion, Whipping, handwaving most of season three
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-15
Updated: 2016-04-15
Packaged: 2018-06-02 10:56:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6563488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meridianrose/pseuds/meridian_rose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Riario wants, needs, to be punished for his actions. Leonardo takes on the burden of delivering the punishment, hoping to intersperse the pain with pleasure.</p>
            </blockquote>





	After Penance, Peace

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Français available: [After Penance, Peace](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7821277) by [HBOWarrior](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HBOWarrior/pseuds/HBOWarrior)



> For a [smallfandomkinkmeme](https://smallfandomkinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/) prompt, Da Vinci's Demons, Leonardo/Riario, Penance / Religious, with additional details mentioning Riario being glad to receive a beating since he'd murdered innocent people; smut; or "Let me pay for my sins". I tried to use elements of both the beating and the "Let me pay for my sins" and I don’t write a lot of smut but I did my best.

The bite of the whip had blissfully obscured almost everything else, until Leonardo's voice cut through the haze of pain.

No, it didn't matter if Riario had paid, Leonardo was arguing with the brothel madam. This was wrong, and fuck if he wasn't going to be permanently marked, and Jesus Fucking Christ was it good business practice to nearly kill your clients?

"He's coming with me," Leonardo said, and the shackles were roughly removed and Riario was hurting too much (and not enough) to care. He was glad of the agony, he deserved that his ribs were so bruised that he could only take quick, shallow breaths.

He let Leonardo take him to the new home the artista had made for himself, and bathe his wounds. He bit his lip at the sting of the salt water and the application of perfumed salves, but he would not cry out. That too was part of his penance.

"What happened to you?" Leonardo asked, over and over. "You were supposed to be fixed."

As if by sparing and then fucking Laura Cereta, instead of slicing open her pretty throat, could heal all the damage he'd done, all the damage done to him. Leonardo had never understood that it was not so simple, not for Riario. Waking up brought only more pain, ceaseless reminders of all the death he'd caused, all the pain he'd willingly inflicted, all the losses he'd suffered.

Sometimes he thought if he'd never killed Zita, things could have been different. But he'd killed her, just as he'd killed his mother. There was something so fundamentally broken in him that he didn't deserve a third chance. No woman's love could or should soothe his ravaged soul.

\--/--

Leonardo blamed himself. He'd let Riario out of his sight and that was when things always went wrong, wasn't it. The damaged wrists were testament to the first time he'd made that mistake, the moment he'd let the count walk off the ship and away to Rome. The bruises on Riario's body were attempts to atone for everything he'd done since then, acts of contrition Leonardo hadn't realised Riario ached for. 

If only Leonardo hadn't sent him back to Rome a second time, the penance could have taken a different form. Well they were together again now and if penance was what Riario wanted, or needed, then Leonardo was determined he would have it. Not at the hands of the uncaring brothel employees, though. Leonardo knew the thrill of the thin line between pain and pleasure, knew how to cause agony without leaving permanent damage, cared enough to ensure he left Riario alive.

"Let me pay for my sins," Riario begged. "Flogging is what I deserve."

Reluctantly, Leonardo agreed though they argued about the specifics. Silk cords, knotted silk cords, thin rope…Leonardo managed to stop at that one. It was worse than what he wanted but not as harsh as the leather which Riario truly desired, a bitterly fought for concession.

They fought further over the number of lashes. Forty, Riario demanded and when that was too many, they negotiated, five, twenty, ten, fifteen, twelve. Leonardo wondered if it was the biblical significance of twelve apostles that let Riario accept that compromise.

"Harder," Riario spat after the first blow.

Leonardo blinked away tears at the second blow. Riario remained almost eerily silent, the infinitesimal grunts of pain the only sign he felt the sting of the cords.

Perhaps this was Leonardo's penance too, to be the one to inflict the pain, to acknowledge his part in Riario's downfall. To pay for his earlier failure by being the one to cause further hurt, to bear witness to the welts and blood that were merely outward reflections of the inner wounds he had not fully staunched.

After, and this was the part Leonardo cherished, the part that made it bearable at all, he was allowed to care for Riario. To wash the damaged flesh, to apply the healing ointments, to hold the exhausted man close and whisper affirmations of love and hope.

And when Leonardo dared to press kisses to Riario's throat, Riario did not protest. When Leonardo's hands stroked gently over the injured ribs, the hiss of breath it drew from Riario's lips was as much from pleasure as pain. When Leonardo trailed his tongue down the center of Riario's torso, making his hips buck, Riario moaned.

"You want me to stop?" Leonardo was poised not an inch above Riario's groin.

"No…but I don't deserve this."

"After penance comes absolution," Leonardo told him. "Let me give you peace to ease the pain."

Riario gave a long sigh. "All right."

It wasn't enthusiastic but it was consent, and Leonardo busied himself unfastening Riario's remaining garments. It unnerved him a little when Riario began muttering prayers, in Latin, even as Leonardo took his cock in one hand, but Leonardo had experienced weirder sexual practices.

It was a game of sorts as Leonardo tried to time the strokes to match each breathless line. It was exciting to hear Riario consciously or otherwise speed up his praying as he became aroused, as Leonardo quickened his pace too.

It was glorious when Riario climaxed, to know it was because of him, and Leonardo moved to kiss Riario's forehead.

"Amen," Leonardo said.

"Amen," Riario repeated, and lay docile as Leonardo cleaned him up once more. But this time his eyes were dilated, his body slack. There was no tension, no sign of pain or guilt. If only this could be Riario's penance, to let Leonardo do as he wanted to him.

\--/--

After the third whipping – and Leonardo had fought tooth and nail for another two days between this one and the previous, desperate to let Riario heal – Leonardo carded his fingers through Riario's hair, stared into the liquid brown eyes.

"How many more times?" he asked.

"As many as it takes," Riario said.

"I can't keep hurting you," Leonardo said, but they both knew that if it wasn't him it would be someone else, maybe Riario himself. "I need to know there will be an end to it. This isn't supposed to be hell, and I don't believe in eternal punishment."

Riario looked away. "Given all the innocents I've killed, don't you think I deserve this?"

"No. I think you would better redeem yourself with good deeds, charitable works, actions that protect innocents." Leonardo pressed a kiss to Riario's hair. "I will help you."

Riario swallowed. "You promise?"

"Yes."

"Three, then."

"What?" Leonardo pulled back.

"Three more times. Then we will stop. I will stop asking it of you."

Leonardo nodded. "Three," he said. He wouldn't even risk negotiating. Three more, they could both survive that. Three more and they could start rebuilding.

"Will I have to stop giving you absolution?" Leonardo asked, fearful of the answer.

Riario laughed. "No. Absolution is something I will always require."

They sealed the deal with a kiss and Riario didn't protest when Leonardo's tongue sought his, when Leonardo's fingers dug into his flesh, when Leonardo's teeth grazed his lower lip. There could be pleasure in pain, and pain in pleasure, under such circumstances.

This was what Riario needed and wanted and had never been able to ask for. This was what Leonardo had for too long denied them both.

This time would be different. This time Leonardo would ensure Riario was whole. This time, he would not let Riario out of his sight.

**Author's Note:**

> [promo tumblr post](http://meridianrose.tumblr.com/post/143107977796/fic-art-da-vincis-demons-leo-x-riario-let-me) ; my DvD sideblog is [here](http://leonardo-artista.tumblr.com/)


End file.
